Discovery of Novel Thanatin-like Antimicrobial Peptides from Bean Bug <i>Riptortus pedestris</i>
<b>Background:</b> Endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are evolutionarily ancient molecular factors of innate immunity that play a key role in host defense. The study of the diversity of animal defense peptides has important applications in the context of the growing global antimicr...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Pharmaceutics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/16/11/1453 |
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| Summary: | <b>Background:</b> Endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are evolutionarily ancient molecular factors of innate immunity that play a key role in host defense. The study of the diversity of animal defense peptides has important applications in the context of the growing global antimicrobial resistance. <b>Methods:</b> In this study using a transcriptome mining approach, we found three novel thanatin-like β-hairpin AMPs in the bean bug <i>Riptortus pedestris</i>, named Rip-2, Rip-3, and Rip-4. The peptides were expressed in the bacterial system, and their antimicrobial activities were evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. <b>Results:</b> Homologs of the discovered AMPs are widely distributed among different members of the infraorder Pentatomomorpha. Rip-2 was shown to have the most similar structure and LptA-targeting mechanism of action to those of thanatin, but the former peptides demonstrated a higher activity against key Gram-negative ESKAPE pathogens and also displayed a significant efficacy in a lethal model of septicemia caused by <i>E. coli</i> in mice at daily doses greater than 5 mg/kg. In contrast, Rip-3 and Rip-4 peptides caused bacterial membrane damage, did not induce bacterial resistance, and exhibited a strong selectivity against <i>Bacillus</i> and <i>Mycobacterium</i> spp. <b>Conclusions:</b> This study extends the knowledge of the structure and functions of insect host defense AMPs. Each of the novel β-hairpin peptides has a potential to be a template for the development of selective antibiotic drugs. |
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| ISSN: | 1999-4923 |